Drupal CMS Review: Drupal ranks high on our list of the best CMSs, but is it the right choice for you? With a broad framework and an advanced level of customization, Drupal content management goes beyond basic templates in favor of intensive customization that allows you to create exactly what you need.
If flexibility, customization, and nearly unlimited bandwidth are your priorities, then Drupal may be the CMS software for you.
To start where it matters: Drupal is not an out-of-the-box solution as soon as you download it. If you want something that comes fully prepared, like Hubspot CMS, you may find the initial hurdle of getting Drupal set up somewhat daunting.
If you plan to go it alone, it is definitely advisable that you have a strong working knowledge of coding. Otherwise, you will have to work with a developer.
But that comes with a lot of possibilities. You can configure Drupal exactly as you need it. Thanks to the open-source structure, you can add features and scale Drupal to grow as your needs increase. You don’t have to install anything you don’t really need, so the user experience is clean and simple.
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Drupal CMS Review: Who is Drupal for?
Drupal requires some background work and has the potential to offer a lot. All of that makes Drupal best for large sites: if you need a lot of customization, high bandwidth, ample guaranteed uptime, etc., then Drupal is an excellent choice. Large organizations like The Economist and the White House use Drupal as their CMS.
Drupal’s Features
Drupal is all about the basics, and the basics work very well. Many of its features may not be flashy, but its standard features are robust, and offer some surprising functionality that you may not have even thought you needed.
Ease of editing & authoring
The backend may require the technical knowledge of a web builder, but editing pages in Drupal is a breeze. It is designed to be intuitive once installed, so sections are clearly explained, and writing in them is a breeze.
And not only are your own pages easier to edit and manage, but Drupal also has advanced options for built-in comments. Thanks to customizable fields, you can specify, remove or add multiple areas for commenters to fill in, which can be especially useful for tracking leads or engagement.
Security
Drupal CMS takes security very seriously. Its sites are strictly monitored and the latest updates are installed regularly. The programmers have legendarily fast response times to fix any patches as problems arise.
Drupal websites are less prone to hacking than many others, for example, WordPress, which is why this CMS is such a popular choice for large businesses or government organizations that need to be especially concerned about security.
Reliability & uptime
Drupal is one of the best CMS software products and the first choice of the most popular international content management systems. Due to its long history and strong community, Drupal has a reputation for reliability: it does not crash, has few bugs, and bugs are fixed very quickly.
Drag-&-drop builds
Once Drupal is set up, it becomes easier to use. When it comes to creating content, it’s like stacking blocks to create a page.
I appreciate a visual editor because I can see exactly what I’m doing and not just hope I’m doing things correctly. Once you get past the development phase, the editing is intuitive enough that I don’t have any problems.
Device Optimization
There is a big difference between how a site looks on desktop and mobile. If it’s not optimized for mobile, Google will rank it worse.
That’s why it’s a great thing that Drupal auto-optimizes for mobile as well as desktop. It can reach most people and keep your ranking automatically.
Heightened Flexibility
Designed to work with all types of sites, it does not have a specific niche.
When you start creating your site, you’ll find that Drupal is pretty sparse by design. And, while that’s where your high-level coding and development comes in, that also means that Drupal can be configured exactly how you need it.
Think of it as the perfect blank canvas: you can build whatever you want and not get distracted by the clutter.
Additional Modules
A system that prides itself on customization has to have extensibility options. With over 16,000 modules you can install, Drupal allows you to build the kind of content management you really need. For example, you can access modules for SEO, for integrating social media or even for upgrading to maximum security.
Drupal’s Ease Of Use
The elephant in the room is the complexity of Drupal and the need for customization. Out of the box, it’s very basic. To set it up and get it ready to use, you’ll need extensive programming skills or work with a developer.
With Drupal, this is not a one-time thing, as coding and development will be required for maintenance and upgrades.
For me, that’s my CMS nightmare. However, if you’re more experienced in the coding or web development world, you might see Drupal’s “needs to be assembled” aesthetic as a fun opportunity to customize your software to your liking. For the rest of us, however, it’s laborious and daunting.
Once Drupal is configured to your liking, it is fairly easy to navigate after spending some time researching and reading through the Drupal community resources. Even the control panel interface is designed to be easy to use.
The areas you need to access are well-defined. And, like everything else, you can customize your dashboard to show what you need to use the most.
What Drupal sacrifices in ease of use, it makes up for by being highly scalable and customizable, to do almost anything you need, and to grow your business.
Drupal’s Pricing
Drupal is free and is continuously updated, like other open-source software. The $0 you spend gives you access to sophisticated software.
That said, however, Drupal is pretty sparse ‘as is’, which means you’ll need to add additional modules and plugins.
You’ll find most of these outside of the Drupal environment itself, and they generally come at a cost. While you won’t have to spend anything upfront, you may have to pay for a number of necessary add-ons later on, such as Drupal themes, Drupal features, hosting, and web development.
Drupal’s Support
You may not find dedicated account managers or a 24/7 hotline, but the community of developers, designers, editors, etc. has built an impressive support network around Drupal. Drupal’s coders also are responsive and work quickly to address any system-wide issues.
While Drupal doesn’t have a dedicated help desk for accounts, it does have an active support community available via chat and Slack. So even if you’re stuck and can’t find an answer in the resources, you have access to live, very knowledgeable people to chat with.
Benefits of Drupal
Drupal offers you the CMS version with almost unlimited power. With high bandwidth and a large community of builders, Drupal is often the rational choice.
While small businesses or freelancers may find Drupal unnecessarily overwhelming, brands that experience large volumes of traffic or have a need to customize to a detailed level will benefit significantly.
It guarantees high levels of security and almost unprecedented scalability. As long as the backend part doesn’t scare you, Drupal has a lot to offer in terms of flexibility, growth, protection, and functionality.
Drupal is a Technically Inclined Champion
Drupal’s open-source building blocks support many cooks in the kitchen in the best possible way: there’s a lot of knowledge and a lot of options. You can use Drupal to grow your business and your brand and never feel stifled.
There’s also the surprise benefit that comes with full customization: no distractions. To create your site and keep it up to date, you’ll need a solid working knowledge of coding or the budget to hire a developer.
Coding needs aside, Drupal is relatively easy to use. Once the CMS is set up, you can easily create pages, content, add features, and set up forms. Anything you can think of, you can do. In addition to the usual blogs, you can create videos, polls, podcasts, and even statistical reports.
If flexibility, growth, and optimization are important to you, Drupal is an excellent choice for any large organization.
How Drupal Compares
| Free Plans | Flexibility in Customization | Fast Loading Speed | SEO Readiness | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drupal | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| WordPress | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Squarespace | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Joomla | ✅ | |||
| HubSpot CMS | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Wix | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
FAQ’s
Can Drupal be used to build e-commerce websites?
Yes, Drupal is a viable option for building e-commerce websites. It offers a range of e-commerce modules and integrations that allow users to create robust online stores with advanced features, such as product catalogs, payment gateways, and order management.
Can I migrate my existing website to Drupal?
Yes, it is possible to migrate an existing website to Drupal. However, the complexity of the migration process depends on the complexity of the current website and the desired functionalities in the new Drupal site. Professional assistance might be necessary for a seamless migration.
Can more than one person in an organization use it?
Drupal’s flexible user management system allows multiple users with customizable permissions. You can enable content creation or commenting as needed, and assign a group with full site permissions, reducing your administrative burden and tailoring user roles to your requirements.
How does Drupal support multilingual websites?
Drupal has built-in multilingual capabilities, making it a suitable CMS for creating websites in multiple languages. Content translation and language-specific URL handling are among the features that facilitate the creation and management of multilingual content.
Is it necessary to use third-party modules in Drupal, and are they reliable?
While Drupal’s core features are robust, third-party modules offer additional functionalities and extend the platform’s capabilities. The Drupal community actively maintains many of these modules, providing reliable options for enhancing your website’s performance and features.
Mike DaVinci HighTechBlogging.com
Mike DaVinci is a skilled content writer with a talent for storytelling. He specializes in creating captivating narratives that engage readers and leave them feeling inspired. His writing has been featured in various publications, including magazines, blogs, and business websites. Mike’s particular interest in human interest stories allows him to uncover the heart of any story and convey it to his readers in an emotional and authentic way. He believes that storytelling is a powerful tool for connecting with people and inspiring positive change in the world.
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